Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Ernest’s parents, Edna Florence and Ernest Frederick Brett, were both London born. They came to Australia and lived in the Port Adelaide area where Ern, their second son, was born at Exeter in South Australia on the 3rd July 1924. His brothers were Roy Frederick and William (Bill).
The boys attended the local Atherton School, on the Lefevre Peninsula near Port Adelaide. As an eight-year-old, Ern was part of a school fundraising effort, which included a baby show, concert and a pet variety competition. Ern won first prize entering his pet cockatoo. He was a capable student, later going on to complete his Intermediate Certificate.
Life was a challenge for the family as the Depression and WWII affected work and housing availability. Ernest worked as a seaman and rented a timber framed house at Alberton for a weekly rate of 7/6. Unfortunately, the letting agents had promised to do necessary repairs, particularly to the dining room floor but had not followed through. Ernest was unwell for a time until he ‘was laid up’. The house was then condemned as unfit for habitation by the Port Adelaide Local Board of Health. A notice to this effect was subsequently placed on the front door of the premises. By February ’40, with a wife and three sons, then aged 10, 15 and 17 still living in the house, Ernest intended to remain on the premises until he found another suitable house. He was granted two extensions, but when the case came before the local courts, a decision was made not to punish Ernest with a penalty or fee, but merely to ensure that the house was vacated.
Post School, Ern became a clerk and, from the age of 18, served with the Militia as S44139 in the 23rd Australian Infantry Training Battalion. He also proved to be a competitive bike rider in local events including the half mile and three-mile handicaps, finishing equal first in the latter with the Port Adelaide Amateurs in March ’41. By March ’43 he headed to Victoria with his training battalion where, aged 18 he enlisted in Bathurst, NSW on the 27th April ’43 for full time duty. He was given the number SX31615.
Intensive training in Queensland followed, with the troops preparing to face a very different enemy in the humidity and jungle of New Guinea. By November ’43 Ern joined the prestigious 2/48th Battalion. He was soon to leave Townsville and was on his way to serve in New Guinea, arriving via Port Moresby in October ’43, immediately facing action. By November he was wounded in action with a gunshot injury to his right thigh. He was first treated by field ambulance before being taken to hospital.
Murray Farquhar in Derrick VC and more recently Mark Johnston in Derrick VC In His Own Words both mention the fighting at Fougasse Corner, Satleberg Road, New Guinea. It was an area thickly covered with bamboo and difficult to traverse. This was where Ern was wounded. Mark Johnson also mentioned the effect of Japanese snipers hidden in the trees. The War Diary reported that the 2/48th lost two killed and 15 wounded, including Ern on this day, compared to 100 Japanese casualties.’
Back home the Advertiser recorded those killed and wounded in action. From Ern’s 2/48th Battalion these included Killed in Action SX7410 Sgt. Robert F. G. Ranford. M.D. Davington. Wounded In Action SX31615 Pte. Ernest H. Brett, Largs Bay. SX6723 Cpl. Archibald E. Heron, Croydon Park SX4814 Pte. Archibald R. Kelly, Adelaide. Wounded In Action. Remaining On Duty SX10909 Pte. William Southern, Prospect.
By February ’44 Ern had left Port Moresby for Australia via Brisbane. The following month was marked by almost three weeks of ‘freedom’, however the hefty fine of the loss of 19 days’ pay for being Absent Without Leave was sobering. By June, Ern joined the Intelligence Section of the 2/48th Battalion, with a photo of his group being taken whist the men were training at the Atherton Tableland in Queensland. He gained qualifications, graduating for Group II Intelligence Duties.
At the end of April, Ern left Townsville for Morota and service at Tarakan in the last days of the war. Early in ’46, Ern gained two rapid promotions to Corporal, then Sergeant. Finally in April he headed home to Australia where he was discharged on the 20th December ’46.
Both parents lived to see Ern return from the war. In 1950, his 76-year-old father died at home in Largs Bay in August ’50. In December the following year, Ern’s 64-year-old mother died at Clare in December. Both were buried in the Cheltenham Cemetery.
Ern’s older brother, Roy married Valerie Edmondstone in June ’52, with Ern acting as his best man. Two years later, Ern’s younger brother, Bill announced his engagement to Valerie’s sister, Shirley.
Researched and written by Kaye Lee, daughter of Bryan Holmes SX8133, 2/48th Battalion.